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Reptiles and Amphibians Wiki:Deletion policy
The deletion policy describes how content that does not meet the relevant criteria for inclusion in the is identified and removed. There may be a variety of reasons for an article, file, template, category, or user page to be deleted. Any user can blank a page, tag or schedule content for deletion, or replace the content, but only administrators have the technical ability to delete content, view deleted content, or undelete content. A list of recently-deleted media can be found at the . Reasons for deletion Generally speaking, content may be deleted if it: * is obvious vandalism, nonsense, or off-topic content; * violates copyright; * is not beneficial to the wiki, such as unnecessary redirect pages, duplicate pages, or pages that cover a subject that is beyond the scope of the wiki; * articles that cannot possibly be supported by [[Project:Verifiability|'reliable sources']], such as those that are wholly dedicated to original research; * articles that do not meet the threshold for notability (at the discretion of the person(s) performing the deletion); * redundant, duplicate, unused, or otherwise useless files, categories, or templates; * any non-encyclopedic content that is considered not suitable for the . However, specific and accessible reasons must be given when any content is deleted (edit summary) or tagged for deletion (reason parameter). ; Anything may be deleted if... * 01. It constitutes spam, vandalism, nonsense, plagiarism, or violates copyright. * 02. It is a duplicate but under different identification. * 03. It falls under maintenance, cleanup, or housekeeping, or is content that is otherwise deemed not suitable for the wiki. ; An article may be deleted if... * A1. The work is not possibly attributed to a reliable source, possibly containing original research or false information. * A2. The content does not meet the threshold of notability. * A3. The work exceeds the scope of the wiki. ; A file may be deleted if... * F1. It is a duplicate of an existing file of similar nature or equivalent-to-greater quality. * F2. It is an image intended for use on a user page (user images are not allowed). * F3. It is restricted by copyright and/or is not provided with a license and source. * F4. It is being scrubbed per uploader and/or owner request. * F5. It has been left unused for longer than 24 hours. * F6. It is in violation of the image policy. ; A talk page may be deleted if... * T1. It entirely or mostly consists of rambling, questions, opinions, off-topic op-eds, or general discussion (see talk page truncation, and talk page archiving for alternates to talk page deletion). * T2. It is the talk page of a redirect or deleted page. * T3. It needs to be deleted and re-created to clear the page's history. ; A template or category may be deleted if... * C1. It is useless, a duplicate, or a template or category of similar nature to an existing template or category. * C2. It does not work correctly or is an unincorporated category. * C3. It has been replaced. * C4. It is no longer in use and will probably not return to service due to specific context. * C5. Qualifies as "over-categorization". Alternatives to deletion Please consider alternatives to deletion before taking any action. The last thing you want to do is delete a new user's contributions and run the risk of biting him or her. ; Alternatives to deleting articles * Expanding the article by beginning a search for actual reliable sources. * Merging the article to a suitable host article. * Get the article back on track so that it fits within the scope or proves notability of the subject. ; Alternatives to deleting talk pages * Truncating the talk page by removing irrelevant, off-topic, inquiry, or spam comments, while preserving comments or parts of a comment that may serve to be useful to other editors. * Archiving the talk page by clicking the "Archive" button. Archived pages may or may not contain off-topic comments, and as they are archived, don't need to be deleted. Archiving can also be done to hide messages that are considered outdated and may therefore mislead new editors. * Moving the messages to an appropriate forum thread, user talk space, or other sub-page. Appealing for recovery Users may request another user to use his/her sysop rights to recover deleted content for the preservation of their labor. However, recovered content is rarely fully restored. Usually, recovered content is copy-pasted onto a user's sub-page or merged with appropriate existing content. To appeal for restoration, contact an . Guide to deletion Tagging/scheduling Tagging or scheduling content for deletion can be done by any user by using the tag. Simply type the code at the top of the article (above all other content, templates, etc.), with respective parameters listed below. # The specific reason for deletion. For example, this could be F1 for an F1, or A1 for an A1, etc. # The date when the article was tagged for deletion (e.g. ). This is used so an admin can determine when the article should be deleted. Some instances require that a user receive a notice in advance before deleting so that he or she has a chance to improve the content, but some instances call for immediate removal. You may substitute the template by typing . Deletion As mentioned before, only administrators ( ) have the final ability to delete pages. If you are a new administrator and don't know how to delete a page, first make sure that you have your other bases covered by visiting . If you're an admin only wanting to know how to go about it properly, follow the instructions below: # Next to the "Edit" button (next to the page's title), there will be a down arrow icon. Click it, and a drop down menu will appear. # After arriving at "Special:Delete", select a reason in the "Reason" field drop down menu. # Uncheck "Follow this page" (optional) and click "Delete", then you're done. Notes